I'm reflecting on 2016 today. As you read, enjoy some of my favorite photos from this year.

2016 was a crazy year for the world. There were multiple times that I couldn't believe what was going on in the world. For me personally, 2016 was a year of growth. I grew in my self-confidence, in my faith, in relationships, and just all around in my life. I learned so much about life and myself. It was a good year.

I know not everyone believes in God, but I do, so my faith is important to me. My faith and relationship with Jesus is stronger than ever. I prayed daily and picked up my Bible more than I ever have. I realized that for me, my relationship with God is the most important thing. I stopped trying to control my life and let Him guide me.

I developed some of the most meaningful relationships I've ever had outside of family and my boyfriend, David. Most of my friendships have started from my sorority and I love that. I never thought I would be a Big (a Big is like a mentor to a younger sister), but I did and my Little is now one of my best friends who I can talk to about anything with no judgment. Ever. Some of my best friends are also my sorority sisters and it is amazing. I can be authentic and never be judged.

I found out how to love myself. I'm working on losing some weight and making some lifestyle choices for myself, but I love who I am. I really learned to embrace every part of me. I also took chances and believed in myself. I went out of my comfort zone and it has been so rewarding.

This blog also grew in 2016. It turned one year in October and it has come a long way since the first post was created. I also started YouTube, which is something that I've wanted to do for years, but I never went through with it. I regret that now, but it is better late than never. This blog helped me and you have helped me. I love this blog. I love creating and because you are here reading this, you have given me motivation to keep doing something that I love. Thank you. Stick around because this is just the beginning.

There were quite a few highlights in 2016. Just a few things that come to mind: I met Nick Jonas (my favorite celeb in case you didn't know) and have his guitar pick; I had the opportunity to spend a day working at the AJC; I became senior editor for Her Campus GSU; I became a Big to Casey, who is now one of my best friends, roommate, and AOII sister; I celebrated five years with my boyfriend, David; I got into the Atlanta Press Club. The highlight of 2016 was definitely being a Bert Show intern. The mornings were early, but it was the best summer of my life. I learned so much and I absolutely fell in love with it. It made me really look forward to my future. I hope that I can work somewhere that I enjoy as much as I enjoyed being there.

2017 holds the last two semesters I have in college. By the end of it, I will be a college graduate and I can't believe it. Time really does fly when you're having fun. I'm excited for what 2017 has to offer and I am so ready to keep living life. 2017, please be good to be.

Welcome back! I hope that you had a great Christmas and if you don't celebrate Christmas, I hope you enjoyed the holiday that you celebrate and have had a great holiday season. At my house, we open gifts on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day is when we get the gifts that Santa brought and gifts from other family members that come by. On Christmas Eve, I helped my mom wrap some last minute gifts and we opened presents! After that, we went to church and had a great dinner at... McDonald's. Very few places were open, but I enjoyed my McDonald's dinner with my family. I spent yesterday in my pajamas surrounded by my loved ones. My Nana (that's what I call my grandmother) made a delicious Christmas dinner and it was great to be around all my family.

I love watching YouTube videos and reading blog posts about what others got for Christmas, so I'm sharing what I got with you! I am not bragging or trying to make anyone feel bad, I just want to share what I received this year. I am so grateful for everything and I am so blessed. I have provided links so if you see anything you like, just click on the item and it will take you to the item or the store's website! However, there are some items that I either can't link or don't know where to get them. Anyway, let's begin.

Happy Friday! We've made it to the weekend and if you celebrate Christmas, this weekend will hopefully be full of love, joy, and happiness. I wanted to take a few moments to wish you the happiest of holidays, no matter what you celebrate this time of year. I will be spending my holidays surrounded by family and loved ones. This holiday season will be a little tough, because right after the holidays, my younger brother heads off to basic military training.

I am extremely grateful for each and every one of you. If you are a regular or new to the blog, thank you for taking time to check it out. If you came from social media or even YouTube, welcome to my favorite pastime and biggest hobby. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. I consider you my family, so if you ever need to talk about anything, totally reach out to me. I love talking to followers, readers, and viewers.

Finals week is here and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I had a final yesterday and I have my last one on Thursday... it is for my communication law class and I am really nervous about it, so I'm spending all of today studying. Thursday night, I am going out with one of my sorority sisters to get dinner at The Vortex to celebrate the end of the semester. If you live in Atlanta, you've probably heard of it. It is a really popular burger joint here, but because it is a bar, you have to be 21 to go. Since I turned 21, I've gone so many times. It is seriously my favorite place.

It has gotten pretty cold here in Georgia and when it gets cold, my lips get so dry. I cannot stand to have dry lips and I'm sure you don't either, so I'm sharing with you how I keep my lips super soft and I'm also sharing my new favorite lip product.

I have been so excited for this blog post for a while. Danielle, a Lipsense distributor sent me a Lip Kit, which included a Lipsense color, one Glossy Gloss, and one Ooops! Remover. I chose the color, Brick, and it is so pretty! It is the perfect holiday color.

The first step to keeping my lips soft and moisturized is using the Sugar Plum Fairy lip scrub from Lush! This lip scrub is the best and the best part is that you can just lick off the excess, so you can really use it anywhere. I love natural products and the fact that I can basically eat this lip scrub (not that I would though), makes me feel good about using it.

Using this lip scrub is super simple. Just put a small amount on your finger and scrub your lips. When you're finished, lick off the rest! I do this daily.

The next thing I use the the moisturizing gloss from Lipsense. This gloss keeps my lips really soft and moisturized.

If I'm not doing anything, I just stick to the lip scrub and the moisturizing gloss, but if I'm wanting a little more glam, my go-to product is the Lipsense lip color in Brick. How pretty is this color? The best thing is that is lasts so long. This stuff won't come off until you remove it.

To order Lipsense, fill out this form. To learn more about Lipsense products, you can check out this Facebook group. Danielle has all the information you need.

Your lips will thank you for taking care of them this winter! I am going to get back to studying, but before I bring this post to a close, I am doing Vlogmas on YouTube! I got a late start because I was waiting on my new camera (I got a Sony a5000) to come in, so the first video is just a quick intro. I'll be uploading regularly for Vlogmas and I plan on uploading a new "regular" video every week! Check out my YouTube and let me know what you'd like to see! Subscribe and leave a comment letting me know you're from the blog!

The weekend is here! This was my last week of classes and finals start next week. I only have two because I took one already and the other is a take-home final, so I'm really glad, but I still have studying to do.

This week has been a busy one. I finished final projects and started studying. I made some flashcards and reviewed some topics and terms I was unsure about. I was running on coffee this week. Thankfully, Postmates has been offering FREE holiday drinks from Starbucks in Atlanta. To get a $10 credit, use the code "TMZFC" on Postmates.

I was also super busy with AOII because we had our alumni ceremony, which is always super emotional, but my grand big went alum, so it was extra emotional for me. I will also be an alum in a year, which makes me sad. That same night, we initiated the girls who went through COB recruitment and had our officer transition. I officially became the Vice President of Communications, so I will be spending most of the Christmas break planning everything out for my year in office.

Monday was Cyber Monday and I didn't plan on buying anything, but that changed. I bought the Sony Alpha a5000. It was on sale for $348 and I just couldn't pass it up. I've heard a lot of good things about it, so I had to get it. It was in my price range and I really wanted a nice camera to improve this blog and to blog with.

Tell me... what did you buy on Black Friday and Cyber Monday? How are you prepping for finals?

About The Blogger

Hey! My name is Amanda and welcome to my little corner of the internet where I talk about being a living your best life, beauty, travel, college, and just life in general. I work in broadcast media and love to bake, catch up on entertainment news, and travel.

Happy Monday! Ready to conquer this week? You got it, girl! I spent Friday night in Atlanta and came back home Saturday for my mom's b...

A Note To You

Just a note to you.. Sometimes, I'll use affiliate links for products, services, apps, and websites that I talk about here, which means that if you click on the link or make a purchase, I may receive a small commission. I will always disclose affiliate links and they help keep this blog up and running. I only support and talk about brands, products, and places that I really love. Thank you for your support!
Follow